Rough Road
by WithH0n0r
Summary: Vera just learned she is Dragonborn and is now being summoned to High Hrothgar. She will learn about the struggles she has to face as one with the dragon blood and will have to make a change within herself to realize her destiny. The whole world rests on her shoulders, but even heroes have their limits, and this world isn't short of opportunities to test them.
1. Chapter 1

**For the Dragonborn that sometimes feel it isn't so easy being the hero of the world**

 _I do not own the rights to Skyrim_

 _Hope you enjoy!_

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The steps were rough, my pack was heavy, and my breathing labored as I walked the seven thousand steps to High Hrothgar. The wind was harsh as it slammed against all the sides of my small frame. It penetrated the fur clothing, which I thought would be enough to endure the brutality of the trip. I had a cloth cloak that I wore above all my gear. I held it tightly around my neck like a scarf while I walked. The gust picked up and the heavy wind nearly knocked me off my feet. I started to understand why the pilgrims further down the mountain never venture up this far. It wasn't because of the wolves, or the journey up the steps itself. No, the harshness of this storm would stop even the mightiest of Nords.

I needed to press on though. There was something inside of me that burned so fiercely, something I was starting to fear I would lose control over. I needed to see these greybeards so they could teach me to control this monster I have become. This fire started to become my fuel for bearing the coldness of the mountain, and I pressed on. My boots crunching into the snow with each step. It felt necessary to stop at each stone marker with an inscription. Not just to learn about the world, but possibly learn about myself. I had no clue who I was, or where I came from. I was an orphan, and I hoped somewhere in these words there would be a glint of an answer. I approached another stone tablet with hope… but no answer revealed itself.

Darkness fell quickly over Skyrim, which meant danger and death on a mountain like this. I swiftly unbuckled my pack and started taking out some essential camping equipment. Luckily I was able to find a spot between two large parts of the mountain, which provided great cover for starting a fire; something I was adept at. Once the flame started burning and giving off light I was able to complete my camp. I set a small fur tent up and lit my iron lamp, which I hung in the middle of my tent. I could hear how loud and ferocious the wind was as it blew past the small valley of rock.

I knew that once I woke up it would be the day I'd meet the greybeards, and I would probably need my strength, so I took a piece of smoked venison out of my pack and started to eat. Normally I would try to eat everything in my pack if I were falling asleep out in the wilderness due to the nature of animals and their curiosity, but with the storm raging on, and no end in sight, everything on this mountain would be looking for cover for the night. I took my water skin sitting on the side of the tent and sipped on the water it held, knowing how dehydrated I was from walking the steps. I surely wasn't counting and knew not how much further I needed to go. Then I sat back and tucked myself under my sleeping bag. I watched the flame inside the lantern flicker until my eyes couldn't bear to be open any longer, and I fell asleep.

My eyes were still closed when I felt something moving around by my feet. I grunted and moved my body into a position more comfortable than what I started waking up into, but then felt the movement again. It was almost as if it was a… a… _A creature!_ I thought as I flew up. Adrenaline shot through my body as I tried to wake myself up. I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to get rid of the drowsiness. My eyes grew wide, and my legs felt weak when I saw it. Its face scowled and its many eyes piercing me. It had a snow-white body and gigantic claws. "A snow troll," I murmured under my breath. It growled and moved a step closer to me, my bag was next to it. The night was still young, and the storm was still aggressively raging.

Out of the corner of my eye I breathed a small sigh of relief that I left my steel sword next to my side. Quickly I gripped its leather handle and prepared myself into a defensive position. This encounter would decide if I was worthy enough to be the dragonborn and train with the greybeards, or if I would flake away from history… and I had no intention of dying on this mountaintop. I needed a plan and I needed one quick, because the troll started to growl louder and angrier. I noticed a small clearing behind the troll. This was the best bet as the troll had me cornered. Narrowly evading the trolls swipe I rolled along the ground in a swift fashion to get behind the beast. The wind pounded against the side of my left cheek, but the adrenaline kept me from feeling the coldness of it. I stared my opponent down, who was doing the same to me. It beat its chest and moved towards me flailing its arms, which I countered with progressive steps backwards. _An Opening!_ I said to myself and I swung my steel sword towards it's gut. The cut landed but it wasn't deep enough.

The troll doubled back from the wound and yelled. It came at me stronger this time, my feet matched it while I tried to evade the attacks. I tried to swing at it's feet but its other hand smacked my torso and knocked the wind out of me. _It moves faster than I thought_ I said to myself, planning to attack from a different angle.

I went for the creature's neck, trying a downward slash from right to left, but it grabbed my sword and clawed my abdomen, going right through the thinner fur armor than my usual wear.

"Ahhhh!" I yelled in pain. I grabbed my abdomen and shouted something more useful. "FUS!" My body surged with a strange natural energy like it did outside of Whiterun days ago and a strong gust of energy attacked the troll. The beast staggered backwards and tried to brace itself from the impact of the force, letting go of my sword. _This is my chance! I have to strike now!_ I rushed in close for the kill. Pulling my arm back for momentum I lunged and drove my sword into the beast's chest. Its cry echoed through the wind and snow, and blood dipped out of its body. It became weaker and weaker as I drove the steel further into it, more blood coming out, and some getting on me. Then it collapsed onto the frozen ground, lifeless.

My breathing was heavy, and a mixture of joy, shock, and fear were all invading me. I looked down at the snow and noticed it wasn't just the trolls blood corrupting the white snow. My abdomen suffered a severe wound from the troll's swipe. Blood poured down my abdomen onto the lower half of my body. I dropped my sword and stumbled slightly. I needed to get to High Hrothgar fast, before the wound became worse in this storm. This wasn't something I could easily brush off with a potion or a healing spell. I would die if I didn't reach the monastery.

I left everything I had except for the lantern and ran, holding my abdomen with my left arm. The storm started picking up, and I could barely see. Trying to use the lantern to light even a tiny amount of the way. My pain let me know I was still alive, but barely. After a couple more minutes, I started to get dizzy, and slightly nauseous. _This is it,_ I told myself, _this is how I die_. That's when I noticed a statue of Talos next me to my right. For a moment, I thought it was looking right at me, brushing the thought off I continued. I started to cough, and a small amount of blood came out.

 _Just a little further!_ I was yelling at myself. _I can do this!_

It was then that I saw the stairs leading straight up to the monastery. _Thank the Gods!_ I cried to myself. I stumbled and barely made it up. Reaching inside one of the doors I pulled it open with the remaining energy and strength I had, toppling forward onto the cold stone floor. The door slammed shut loudly behind me, and it was quiet, so quiet. My vision darkened, and I blacked out. I could only hope that the greybeards heard me and could make it in time.

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 _Thanks for stopping by!_

 _Hopefully these greybeards can reach the Dragonborn in time_

 _Have a great day!_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hello reader!_**

 ** _Thanks for stopping by my story! I really appreciate it. To be honest I wasn't sure if I was going to continue this story but decided that what I have in store for it could be a fun idea._**

 ** _You will see the dragonborn go through something I don't think a lot of stories tell. That is - The nature of dragons and how that affects one with the dragon blood._**

 ** _This chapter has a lot of retelling in it involved in some of the initial quests, but a couple of changes and twists here and there. I cut down some of it to progress the story so it may feel slightly rushed. For the sake of the story I need to get through these events before I get to the meat of what I want._**

 ** _Anyways! Hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

 _The man was raggedy, and his clothes told a tale of poverty and sorrow. Alas I had no intentions of letting the worm go. He was human after all, and I'm better than he is. Him, and his whole family as a matter of fact. A clever idea struck my brain. Why don't I just kill them all? I laughed to myself. The tiny dilapidated shack we were in served no real purpose for the small family of three. There was a table and a cooking pot over the fire, but that was everything. Not even a chunk of meat to fill their empty stomachs. The fear in the woman's eyes let me know I was in total control. The girl cowered behind her helpless parents. I would make sure to end her life quickly. I take no pleasure in killing children. I raised my sword, the glimmer of the fire in their eyes was the last thing I saw before I came down to strike. Just before the steel crashed against the skin I could feel myself being pulled away somehow. I could hear a low voice, calling to me. "Wake up," it said. Suddenly I was no longer in the shack but in pitch black darkness. The voice kept calling and then…_

I violently gasped for air as my body rose from a bed. Coughing and hacking, I felt like I was drowning, or that I couldn't breathe somehow. When my vision returned to me I tried to make out where I was. _Oh right! I made it to the monastery,_ I thought before looking to my right. Sitting down next to me was a man, who was very old looking and had bluish grey robes. His demeanor was peaceful yet powerful.

"Who are you?" I asked, coughing again. My abdomen pain flared and I winced at it. Looking down I could see some bandage dressings over my wound.

The man spoke gently. "You suffered a heavy wound, you would do well to rest."

I turned my attention to him. "How long was I asleep?"

"It hasn't been long, only a day." The man replied.

A fire crackled next to us. Its sound resonated off the stone walls. It was quiet in this place… peaceful. Sure, you could find peace in the wilderness of Skyrim, but this was different. This sort of peace was therapeutic.

The man spoke up. "Go ahead, ask your question. I can see it in your face that you have many."

"Why did you call me here? What am I doing in this place?" I asked.

He adjusted in his seat, probably from sitting there for a while. "We have called you here because it is our duty as greybeards to do so." He paused then continued. "But as for your second question, that is something only you can answer," the man finished.

"What do you mean only I can answer that?" I asked, slightly perturbed. I felt like this was what I was SUPPOSED to do and was confused.

"If you do not respond so easily to wisdom, maybe a direct question will help you," he said. "Why are YOU here?"

I was stunned. I just asked this old man the exact same question, but for some reason when he asked it I couldn't even speak or provide any sense of an answer.

"I… I uh," I began, but couldn't bring myself to a conclusion.

"I'm not sure," I said sighing.

"Well, in that case I think it's time that you got some more rest," he started. "My name is Master Arngeir, and I speak for the greybeards. We will continue this once you are fully rested." With that Arngeir stepped up out of his chair and began walking down the silent hall.

I laid my head back in the bed, feeling the warmth of the fire. It soothed me, this place soothed me, and it wasn't too much longer before I feel back into sleep.

I woke up by the same fire, my eyes prying open. Arngeir was kneeling beside the bedside, and I could hear whispers coming from him. His arms waving in an almost meditative way. When I saw his face, I realized it wasn't Arngeir, but a different man.

"Hi there, who are you?" I asked, but the man only stood up and walked away.

 _That was rude!_ I thought to myself.

I looked down at my dressings, prodding my abdomen. There was no more pain.

 _That's impossible, there is no way anyone could have healed that quickly from a troll attack._

Bewildered I swung my feet out of bed. Trying to regain my balance from laying down for so long I stumbled into the hallway. Strangely this rock fortress of a monastery was warm. However, the ground was still cold to the touch with each step of my bare feet. I had a worn hooded robe on to cover myself. The greybeards must have switched this out to better heal me. My other apparel was more than likely soaked with blood, or warped from the troll attack.

I climbed up a small flight of steps up to a thinner hallway which seemed to be one of two between a central opening. As I made my way to the center I could see four men dressed in the same robes standing underneath the light in the middle of the room. Arngeir moved towards me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I feel great. Thank you for healing me. If I might ask though, how did you heal me so quickly? It doesn't appear you used traditional restoration." I finished.

"Master Wulfgar used his healing shout on you progressively over the past couple of days to ensure you are fully healed and rested for training." Arngeir replied.

I nodded my head to let him know I understand. After all I know what a shout is. The Whiterun guard told me as much after we killed the dragon.

"Are you ready to learn?" Arngeir asked.

"I am ready Master," I said.

We moved towards the middle of the room. All the other greybeards bowed as we approached.

"You have said that you were called by us to High Hrothgar to train in the ways of the voice," Arngeir began. "However, you have not fully shown us that you are Dragonborn. Let us have a taste of your Thu'um." He finished.

He couldn't be serious. I was going to blow these greybeards away with my Fus shout if I wasn't careful. When I looked at Arngeir his face was serious, and when looking at the rest they had the same face.

 _Well, here goes nothing,_ I told myself.

I gathered all of the natural energy around me. Breathing it in with each breath and focusing on the the word that I knew. Feeling the word and all that it means and stands for I continued to build strength until it burst out in a force of wind.

"FUS!" I yelled, blasting into the old greybeards. They stumbled slightly, but were unharmed by the effects of my shout. When they recovered Master Arngeir spoke. "Dragonborn, it is you. Welcome to High Hrothgar."

"Thank you," I replied.

Your Thu'um comes from words of power, one of which you already know. Each shout comes in the form of three words. With each word your shout will become progressively stronger. We will now teach you the second word of the Unrelenting Force shout, which is Ro." Master Arngeir said.

Another greybeard whispered to the ground. The air warped around him and against the floor of High Hrothgar and two letters in the dragon alphabet appeared. I studied over it and tried to feel the word inside of me. Then the letters disappeared, reflecting that I had learned the word.

Arngeir began again. "Normally you would need to meditate and study the word you just learned extensively in order to use it in a shout, but since you are dragonborn, master Eianarth will allow you to tap into his understanding of Ro."

Master Eianarth bowed and a strange natural energy connected both of us together for a moment. It was almost like the wind but inexplainable all the same. Immediately years of studying and meditation of the word Ro became mine.

I bowed towards Eianarth humbly. "Thank you," I said.

They had me perform the newly improved shout with Ro, using projected phantoms of themselves as practice dummies. They created them using a shout. One by one I took them out with my upgraded Unrelenting Force shout. Arngeir seemed impressed. Then he had me follow the greybeards outside into their courtyard.

I was next tested on learning an entirely new shout. I guess the greybeards thought that maybe if I learned the words from a shout I was familiar with then learning a new shout would be more difficult; it wasn't. They taught me the whirlwind sprint shout, or at least the first word of it. Afterwards Arngeir pointed me to my next step in training which wasn't at High Hrothgar. It was in the catacombs of Ustengrav, an ancient Nord burial site that contained the horn of Jurgen Windcaller who was the founder of the way of the voice. With that he gave me my armor back, which was surprising still in good condition, and I set off.

I found the tomb easily enough. A couple of bandits got in my way along the path to the horn, each obstacle proving a small challenge. One chamber was full of life. Water and plant life surrounded the bottom, and a word wall containing another shout stood at the base of the chamber. I plundered downwards, picking off the skeleton warriors that attempted to stop me from reaching the further depths. Upon studying the word it revealed itself within me, but I could not yet understand its meaning.

I followed a series of challenges that required me to use my shouts that I currently had, and found myself in a small chamber that was laid with stone slabs along the ground. When I progressed forwards the fire dashed up, I could feel the heat at my back as I ran for my life along the small hallway to the end of the tomb.

Finally, I reached the end, and there it was. I could see the location where the horn was ahead of me. Pillars of stone dragons rose from the water next to me, signaling my success. Upon reaching the horn I realized there was no horn at all, but a letter addressing me. It told me go to Riverwood and ask for the attic room in the sleeping giant inn.

I had no choice. I couldn't return to the greybeards without the horn. Arngeir didn't seem like the type for jokes, and I doubt they would consider their holy horn being stolen as a silly antics, or find humor in it. So, it was off to Riverwood. I had been there once before. An imperial soldier, Hadvar, aided me in escaping Helgen after I had been wrongfully arrested. He was the only soldier there that pitied me, for I was not on their list for execution. The officer didn't care though, she ordered for me to be killed. She probably loved executions. Hadvar had an Uncle, Alvor, who is the blacksmith there. His family took us in and got my life in Skyrim jumpstarted. From there I went to Whiterun and helped defend against a Dragon. That's where I first learned about my abilities, and that's where the greybeards called for me to come to them.

I arrived in Riverwood after a day's journey. When I walked into the dim tavern, the smell of ale filled the air. A bard was playing in the corner and a wench was serving drinks. A couple of patrons were laughing and slamming their tankards against the old wooden tables.

"Hey! Go easy on the tables!" Yelled a Nord.

They nonchalantly waved to brush off his comment and continued laughing. The Nord, who looked like the bartender, shook his head and continued sweeping the back behind the bar.

"Welcome to The Sleeping Giant inn, can I get you anything?" He asked, noticing I walked in. A woman interrupted the conversation though before I could get a word out.

"I'll help her Orgnar, you keep an eye on those hooligans over there," she said.

"Yes ma'am," Orgnar replied.

"How can I help you?" She inquired.

She looked old but looked well for her age, wearing a blue dress. The woman had blonde hair and was rather short.

"Umm, I'm looking to rent the attic room." I said with slight hesitation, I knew this could either be a trap or might be more trouble than it was worth. For a moment I thought about just dealing with Arngeir about the stolen horn. I mean, I did get to the final chamber in Ustengrav so I completed the challenge. It wasn't my fault the horn was stolen.

"Attic room huh?" The woman said. "Well, we don't have an attic room, but there is one open over here. It's 10 gold." She finished.

I gave her the gold and she directed me to my room, which was actually more like a broom closet to be honest. However, a bed is a bed and it was worth the 10 gold. So, I unarmored myself and laid my sword down beside me. I fell asleep quickly from the exhaustive trip down to Riverwood.

 _At once everything as far as the eye could see was engulfed in flames. A town burned to the ground and all that it holds smoldering, the smoke filling the air, suffocating it. Screams could be heard from everywhere and depressing cries and whimpers echoed in between the buildings. Children could be heard desperately yelling as if some monster had come after them, their fear signaling a need for their parent's protection. I was standing in the middle of the town, surrounded by flames. I could see reflections of myself, allowing me to peer into time and space. They all lined up in rows side by side and began a dance of the events that took place. One by one I could hear the cries of the men and women I slaughtered. Their warped cries filling my head. My hands started shaking and I dropped my sword. The sound of metal clashing against the cobblestone startled me. When I looked down I could see two children. They were not moving. I couldn't comprehend what was going on around me, and I became scared._

" _What did I do?"_

" _I'm so sorry!" I cried._

" _How could I do this?!"_

 _I fell to my knees, sobbing at the loss of life, and at the realization that I just committed these atrocities, but I started to feel myself being violently dragged away, until my eyes opened._

"Get up!" I heard a voice yell.

My eyes opened, and I jumped out of bed. It took me a few seconds to realize I was still at the inn. It also took me a moment to realize I already had my sword out, aimed at the woman who rented me the room. Slowly I lowered it, and suspecting eyes pierced me.

"Are you okay?" Asked the woman. I was impressed that she didn't flinch from the sword.

I sheathed the sword and apologized.

"I'm uhh, really sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just having a nightmare."

"Understandable, and I'm sorry to have woke you, but now that I know you were having a nightmare, maybe I'm not," she started. "However, I need you to follow me."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because I'm the one who left you the note, and I have something for you. By the way, my name is Delphine."

My eyes narrowed, and I was slightly frustrated now at the woman.

"Why did you steal the-" I started but was cut off.

"Shhh… we can talk, but it has to be somewhere private," Delphine whispered.

She beckoned me to follow her as she turned around and headed towards the opposite side of the inn. Another room which appeared to be hers had a wardrobe that she opened. To my surprise there was nothing in it, and further surprising me she opened a false board to led down to a lower hidden room. Weapons could be seen hanging off the walls and a small table was in the middle. On it was a map of Skyrim, and a book with the Imperial Insignia on the cover.

Delphine gave me the horn back, which I was grateful for. Then she proceeded to justify why she stole it. Simply put, she needed to find me and the best way she knew how without drawing attention to herself was to lead me to her. She knew I would go to the greybeards and somehow, she knew I would complete the Ustengrav trial. What I didn't know, was how she knew all of this in the first place, and who she was working for. All I knew was that she was investigating the dragon sightings and wanted me to help her kill a dragon to prove I was dragonborn, which was ridiculous.

Apprehensively I chose to aid her in killing this dragon. I thought it might be a trap, but Delphine had already given me back the horn, which she didn't have to in the first place, so I figured I could at least trust her a little. We traveled along the southern edge of Skyrim through the Whiterun hold, running into bandits and small packs of wolves along the way. Eventually we came to the snowy land of the Windhelm hold where the town of Kynesgrove awaited us.

The snow was thick and crunched with each step as we approached. A woman was sprinting for her life down the road away from town.

"Hey there's a dragon attacking! You have to run for your life!" She yelled, grabbing Delphine's arm. Delphine whipped her arm back to get the woman to go away and continued. See Delphine had this theory that dragons were coming back to life, following a very specific pattern across Skyrim. She hoped this dragon would confirm her pattern.

When we went up the hillside we could see the dragon the woman was talking about. It was a black, angry looking dragon hovering over the top of the hill. We made our way up to the dragon. It started speaking, and shouted at a burial mound across the way. A shockwave hit the ground and a skeletal dragon made its way out of the tomb. Rocks and dirt flew everywhere. The dragon roared. You could see the body of the dragon rejuvenating as the seconds passed.

Then the black dragon started speaking to me. I was surprised it even knew we were there. It was teasing me that I was not worthy to speak their language or use their powers. Cursing me for being so mortal and taking the name of dragonborn, or "dovah". It flew away, leaving the newly resurrected dragon to kill us.

Delphine and I fought against it's frost breath as it made runs past us. We pivoted behind a large rock, using it as cover. Eventually we hit it with enough arrows to weaken him enough, sending the beast crashing into the ground. Then we moved to attack with sword and shield. The dragons skin proved to be a formidable shield against our attacks as it attempted to bite us with it's huge mouth. I found a good foothold to grab onto its head after the last attack it made, climbed atop it's head. I rocked back and forth while the beast tried to shake me off, struggling to hold onto its scaly body.

With one focused stab I sheathed my sword into its head. Piercing it fully, the dragon cried out in pain and suffering, and it collapsed to the ground. Its head quaked the hill, and I jumped off with finesse. Panting I turned around and witnessed the beast flicker away, back to the skeletal dead version of itself. Then its power flew past me. I absorbed it; just like the first dragon I fought in Whiterun.

Delphine was astonished at what I had just did. She came up to me apologetically.

"Go ahead dragonborn. Ask anything you want, no holds barred this time," she said.

I asked who she was and what she wanted. Turns out she is a surviving member of the old Blades organization. I didn't even know they existed, which Delphine saw as amusing sadly. She said that in ancient times they were dragon slayers and they served the ultimate dragon slayer; the dragonborn. After their organization was wiped out by the Thalmor – The Aldemeri faction that controlled the politics of Skyrim – they went into hiding, and have been searching for a purpose ever since. It seems she has found that purpose, in me.

Her next step was to find a reason behind this "initial black dragon," and who was controlling it. It was the same dragon that attacked Helgen, so it must have been the first one to resurface. She immediately pictured the Thalmor and was certain it was them controlling it. So, she headed back to Riverwood to form a plan of action to get more information about them. In the meantime, I was left to do what I wanted. With that crazy adventure out of the way, and the horn of Jurgen Windcaller in my possession. I decided to head back up to High Hrothgar, to continue my training.

* * *

 **Thanks again for stopping by reader!**

 **In the next chapter we will see the dragonborn deal with some spiritual challenges that were not present during the game.**

 **I hope to see you there!**

 ** _Hope you're having a great day in whatever cave, tomb, or dungeon that you explore!_**


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